in the name of my mother, i'm going to say on this case. she would have wanted me to. and whose name in whatever you believe, you ought to stand for something. my mother said if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. thanks for watching, i'm al sharpton, "hardball" starts right now. forget about it, let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews, leading off tonight, toy story. here is why the etch-a-sketch

label is likely to stick to mitt romney. it confirms what most people on the left and right think about him. here is the conservativeredstate.com say. it sums up romney's history in one image. when he needs to win office, he resets the slate, and does whatever is politicly expedient. that is from a website that will support romney in the fall. why does it seem when romney wins a primary, he steps on it with an embarrassing revelation of who he is. he might be able to survive them in march, but not in october. and the case of trayvon martin has raised awareness of the stand your ground laws. the law was signed by jeb bush himself. since going into effect, the rate of justifiable homicides has tripled.

how do you get on the wrong side of environmentalist and the drill crowd? you say no to the keystone pipeline, and then you ask for quicker construction of part of it. let me finish with the romney aide that tells us that romney's word is not his bond. we begin with romney's etch-a-sketch problem. we have an msnbc political analyst. and matt viser is new from the "boston globe" here is the now infamous line from just yesterday. >> good morning, it's fair to say that john mccain was a more moderate candidate than the ones romney faces now.

is there concern that it might force the governor to go so far to the right it might hurt voter ins the general election? >> i think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign, it's like a etch etch, you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again. >> in other words like one of these. an etch-a-sketch gaffe made as much news as the jeb endorsement yesterday. here in the "washington post" romney endorsed by jeb bush mocked over a aide's mark. and matt, you had a front page story on romney's hometown paper with the headline "words boost the devil romney" what do you make of this? you're not a columnist, right? so what is this guy's problem? it seems like he has an aide who is a truth teller.

he went out and said the one thing that everybody has been saying for years about romney. he is an etch-a-sketch. what gets him elected governor of massachusetts, pro gay rights, pro health insurance, whatever. then he etch-a-sketch everything he has been saying to get into that job and then says i'm a right winger. >> right, and it brought to light the problems that romney has. yesterday santorum's aides were handing out etch-a-sketchs. so this is a big deal going forward. >> a reporter on the ropeline yesterday would not answer questions. romney came back out for a media availability with just one question to answer, and you can guess what that was about. here is how the candidate tried to explain the remark i would say unsuccessfully.

>> organizationally, a general election campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be impactexactly the same. ly be running as a conservative nominee. >> he is now trying to change the topic to organizational issues, pie charts, organizational charts, and that's the great thing about tv tape. we now know what question was, it was about the substance of the positions he has been taking to appeal to the right, and how he expects to squirm out of them. >> there has been a lot of conversation on the blogs today about him being taken out of context, but that's not true. he was asked about id logical positions. and that is why mitt romney was

so uncomfortable today. >> and to give us, matt, a wonderful image, this toy, and everybody is going to buy these, and say this is one of the things you can make a design on and make it erase. >> yeah, and in 2004, with john kerry, people showed up with flip-flops. now in the primaries we're already seeing that or in the general election. there was 18 e mails yesterday. >> it's the vividness of the image. and the other part of it is it's not just democrats taking this up. it's republicans. it's the fact that even though mitt romney declared the race to be over on the the republican side, it isn't quite over, and the people fighting at him are grasping. >> let's see if we can look at the videos now.

here is santorum and newt on the etch-a-sketch smash up. this is santorum in san antonio, let's watch this. >> you win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who will be a little different than the person in there. if they're going to be a little different, let's stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> let me take a look at something now, ann romney has been brought in as a relief pitcher, she is more appealing to most people, here is how she responds on cnn last night. let's watch her attempt. >> this is exactly what happens in a campaign where you get these distractions, and obviously he was talking about how we're going to change focus and change, you know, what we're

going to do. the organizational sense of changing, not mitt changing positions. >> howard, that's not what he said, that's not the answer he said, she's flipping it. those are her talking points. >> the one mitigating thing here is it wasn't mitt romney that said this originally. unlike john kerry that said in 2004 that i was against that before i was before it, or maybe the other way around. so it wasn't mitt romney himself, but it's so apt, it's so utterly apt, but it will stick to him from now on. there's just no way around it, and romney can site any -- >> let's talk about massachusetts. i know the place, i know all of the guys that live in it, it's in their blood. what do people in massachusetts say on the streets about mitt

romney? is he pretending to be a right winger to catch up, or is he a deep down right wing thaer pretended to be a moderate? >> i think people felt like he was more moderate. that's how he won in 2002. >> so they believe the guy who was governor? >> yes, and shortly after that, he started his presidential aspirations, and in 2004, he started making trips out of state a lot more. >> so they believe the etch-a-sketch that he will erase all of the right-wing stuff he has done, and go back and reset, to use his aides reset -- >> what's the place in jamaica? doyles? i went there when he was on the

right. he was on the right of bill weld. >> he is around scott brown. >> and that was the sense -- >> a little left of scott brown. >> that's how the republicans were going to rise in massachusetts by being moderate republicans in a democratic state. they weren't talking about mitt r romney has a red state party guy. >> this guy has a lot of houses, one in santa barbara, he has one in michigan. somewhere back in mexico. his problem is which louse he come from when he gets elected to the presidency if he does win. >> yeah, who knows. it's simi valley in california. yeah, i don't know.

>> let's look at a joke about the etch-a-sketch comments. "it makes it much harder perhaps impossible for rom any to track back to the voters. every time romney makes a move or a head fake, it becomes a etch-a-sketch moment". >> he is screwed either way according to joe. joe says that romney does have to tack back to the miding, but then joe will clobber him with an etch-a-sketch. >> we're all watching, this guy is giving us the template and the toy to use. this guy is going to have people waving these things in his face. the debate moderator and reporter wills have to bring this up. >> the thing that's good is it's only march, but i asked david

axelrod what toy is barack obama, and i did not get a response. >> here is mitt romney campaigning, and someone suggested -- >> etch-a-sketch, they can bite it. >> butt it in here. that is louisiana treatment of an etch-a-sketch. >> finally, a clown like moment for newt. where is donald trump? and herman has to come back, herman cain, they all ought to come back for this one. we told you so. >> today i went to look at the cherry blossoms, and i could not resist being a reporter down there. and i assumed nobody would care

about the etch-a-sketch story, and i asked americans about the etch-a-sketch thing, and they said of course. it's penetrated the public consciousness because of the symbimilaymbolism of it. >> great reporting. howard, now that you mention the beautiful cherry blossoms, we drove by last night, please come and visit washington. the monuments are all here, the libraries are all here, everything is here, and it's all free. i always said come to washington, you already paid for it. coming up, what is it about mitt romney that he and his committee keep committing errors. the etch-a-sketch is not the first time they stepped on a big win. now they're losing. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow.

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new poll numbers from new england, let's go to the score board. mitt romney has a commanding lead over santorum for the april 24th primary. no surprise there. romney's strength in connecticut does not carry over to the general where he is getting beat by president obama right now. and in neighborhoods massachusetts where romney was governor, we were talking about it, he is getting demolished. a new poll says the state stays deep blue this november. and that's where he's from among other places. s on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities --

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>> the morning after they made this statement that refocused on p pundants. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor, they have a safety net. >> in the south carolina primary, mitt romney made this comment about a portion of his wealthy. speakers fees that amount to $470,000 a year, and here is what he said about that figure. >> i get a little income from my book and i gave that all away, and then i get speakers fees

from time to time but not very much. >> not very much, about $400,000 a year. just days before the michigan primary, romney wants to make headlines, but all anyone could talk about was this. >> it feels good being back in michigan. you know, the trees are the right height, the streets are just right, i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck, ann drives a couple cadillacs, actually. >> i argue these are not gaffes, and i will really stick it to you, i think these are confessions. i think everything he said it what he thinks, and after he said it, someone told him there was something wrong with it. the couple cadillacs, the

$400,000 is pocket change. it's who he is. >> i think there are two issues. there is the first, have they stepped on their own story repeatedly, and i think it's indisputable that has happened. i think the larger issue, and it's not fun to talk about, it doesn't make for great television, but the larger issue is whether it matters. and i would argue that despite all of this, it hasn't really mattered or slowed his methodical process. >> so the speeches he has prepared is what we should listen to? >> no, what i'm saying is has any of this disqualified him? is president obama running away? >> you have to -- you know what's going to happen at all of these. >> yes, the ads against the president have not started yet. >> do you think this toy will play in some of the ads. >> i think so, todd, you said

earlier that you never thought about using this in an ad before, i would write obama care on there and shake it. >> that's how you get past it? >> i think you lean forward into it. >> that slogan has been taken. >> you can't lane forward into this many gaffes. you're absolutely right, chris. what he said in an unguarded moment is what mitt thinks and believes. it's so out of touch -- >> when he says i don't make much in speech making, and he made $400,000, do you think it doesn't mean much to him? >> i think it's entirely possible he has no idea how much he makes in speaking fees, obviously it's a ton of money. >> he hasn't paid a full income tax -- >> what about when he says

things like "the don't care about the very poor" what does that mean? >> i had a problem with that comment from a totally different reason. from a conservative standpoint, i think the best argument for conservatism is not that the very poor have a safety net, i think the best argument is look, conservative fiscal policies, this will lift all boats. if you're the very poor, or middle class. >> he said he didn't care -- >> i get it. >> how does he get out of trouble here? remember when reagan got in huge trouble when his top guy, his budget director, said these numbers don't make any sense. we're trying to get the tax rates lower for the rich. with jim baker and the smart guys, what did they do? it was a revelation of betrayal.

they took them to the wood shed. all of those guys fell for it. would you do that? would you file fernstrom whb change the story from revelation and trouble, to truth, to this guy misbehaved? >> no, first of all, serk a friend of mine, i think he is very smart and skilled. >> i think you fire him and you make the problem even worse. you bring more attention to it. >> what would you do? >> i would lane into iien into . >> he is a rich guy, out of touch with reality, and he is willing to say anything. >> it's two separate questions, how do you get beyond the etch-a-sketch thing or -- >> obama care, it's gone. >> can you imagine a candidate that comes out and admits his

worst failing, that his word is not his bond, what an amazing statement. >> right, and you either fire him, or you put distance between yourself and him which he also didn't do. if he should be fired now it will just extend the story. >> let's turn over the pillow to the cold side. everybody sort of likes jeb bush. >> i really like him. >> and now rubio, he more than sort of likes, he loves marco rubio. is marco getting a push from jeb bush now big? >> he said he wants him as vp. >> do you think it's important that jeb bush endorsed the other

most popular guy in florida to be vp. >> here is the push, it's to push him out of the way to get him on the ticket so he is gone. because both of these guys, the next time -- jeb could take on hillary clinton in the battle of the century. >> sign me up. >> he wants marco rubio out of the way. >> anyway, thank you, because it's tougher for hillary if she runs because she has to continue after eight years. it's tough to continue after eight years of president. >> don't count joe biden out. >> here is the etch-a-sketch. thank you steve mcmann, and todd harris. up next, the toll the long republican campaign is taking on the candidates, the side show is coming up only on msnbc.

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back to "hardball." first up, time for a nap? the time has come in the c campaign when the candidates are starting to take their toll. >> i woke up and realized i didn't have any shirts appropriate for a fundreyeser, and so i washed it in the sing, and then i thought about how am i going to cry it? and it took me about 20 minutes to iron dry it. "that's when newt is prone to

loosen up and get a little punchy. on one recent evening, gingrich tested out bumper slogans like drill here, pay less. i have one for him, say good night, newt. he spoke last night to honor bob dole. biden recalled when president reagan asked for his opinion for who to nominate to the supreme court. >> translator: president called me down. i sat there in the chair. i was sitting with vice president reagan, and he said joe, what are the prospects of these people? he said tony kennedy. i said he is a straight

conservative, but i think he would pass. and he said so you're for him? he grabbed me and walked around the couches and into the private dining room, opened the door and there was standing tony kennedy. he said tony, joe is for you. [ laughter ] >> the story, kennedy did make it past the senate vote in a vote of 97-0. biden had to be out sick that day, but democrats generally support the nomination including apparently biden. up next, the trayvon martin case, and the debate over the so called stand your ground laws. very tricky stuff here. and tragic. only on "hardball" on msnbc. ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close!

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hey everyone, i'm alex witt. the official cause of whitney houston's death was accidental

drowning. cocaine use and heart disease was always causes for her death. and the senate passed a scaled down bill banning members of congress from trading public information, the president says he'll sign it. back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball," this is the scene in sanford, florida tonight where people are gathering to protest the killing of trayvon martin and the failure of the police to make an arrest. earlier today, the sanford police chief was forced to step down temporarily because of the handling of the case. it has brought national attention to the stand your ground laws. they allow people to use deadly

force if they believe their lives are threatened. florida was the first state to pass such a law in 2005 and was fully supported by then governor jeb bush. >> it's common sense to allow people to defend themselves and to have to, when you're in a position where you're being threatened, there is a life threatening situation to have to retreat, and put yourself in a very precarious position, you know, it defies common sense. >> we called governor bush and have not received a response for tonight's program. the issue is whether the stand your ground laws prevent violence or cause it. joining me now is chris smith who opposes the laws, and alan gottleib. why do we need the laws?

>> lots of people were being prosecuted when they stood their ground. and in many cases they had to wait a year or two years to find out if they were going to be prosecuted for it. so this allowed for a legitimate means of self-defense. we have seen violent crime drop and justifiable homicides increase, meaning the victim is the bad guy, not the good guy. >> most people of think of self-defense as somebody is trying to kill me, and i had a chance to prevent it, i'm allowed to use a gun. but apparently under the law, you don't have to try to get out of the situation or run your way out of it, you're allowed to just pull a gun out and shoot. is that different from the normal notion of self defense? >> there was a stand your ground

factor that said you had to try to protect yourself and your property and that was wrong. i don't think we should diindic the law. >> many people think this will be used to defend mr. zimmerman for shooting trayvon martin. >> he may use it to defend himself, but the truth is in this case he was the pursuer and he did not stand his ground. 911 told him to break off and not pursue, when you're pursuing you're not standing your ground, so i'm not sure that dlechbs work for him at all. >> senator smith, thank you for joining us, give us a sense of your debate here. i understand you don't like these kinds of laws, why do you think they're dangerous to have on the book snst. >> they have a big hole in them.

i was in the house in 2005 and argued this point when i voted against this bill. he can use it because it doesn't say that you can't be the pursuer. this law has been used by criminals that take themselves to the fight, and once they get there, use this nonrebuttable presumption to get away from the courts. under what we talked about before, if you have a self-defense claim, at least that went to a jury and the jury can look at a totally of the situation. under this, it's a not rebuttable presumption that you have the ability to stand your ground. so you don't even get to a jury or look at the facts. that is why mr. zimmerman is still walking free. >> let's talk about -- i don't believe in this, i'm a gun control guy, but people that walk around with rights to carry concealed weapons, and that i have a stand your ground law, that seems like a potent c

concocti concoction. it seems to me you are going for the gun. a guy can give you lip, yell at you, threaten you, and your thought you can just gun them down, is that true? >> and that's exactly the problem. this happened in orlando. if a tourist is at a gas station, and i go up and say hey, you cut me off to the light. when that tourist steps to me, i can prevail of the law, and shoot the tourist dead in the state of florida. >> that's totally untrue. first of all, you have to be threatened. you can't just go up to somebody pumping their gas and say i don't like you i'm going to shoot you. that's obviously a criminal act with criminal intent. >> it's been used in florida in

that -- >> mr. gottlieb, it has been used that way. >> then it should be prosecuted. this is about somebody doing bodily harm to you. it's not just people with a firearm for self-defense period. this past week there were ten murders and people shot and wounded in chicago. they don't have a stand your ground law. in chicago it's hard to protect yourself. why don't we do a segment on that. >> senator smith, let me ask you. let's separate ourselves from this in terms of the names involved and try to imagine this situation. a guy who thinks he is the sisco kid, calling in some 60 cases, he chases after the guy. when they confront each other, it becomes a physical

confrontation. he had a bloody nose and bloody back of his head. what point does it become a t, confrontation when the guy pursued him when he is basically defending himself. >> that's the problem with the law, they're so vague, and we argued vagueness when they were passing this bill. it's too vague, it doesn't say that you can't be the pursuer or that you can't initiate the contact. the law is vague, and you need to read the florida statute and the statute that has been passed in other states. it's too vague. it doesn't say you can't be the pursuer and that is exactly the case. a judge dismissed a case under this law where a gentleman saw someone breaking into his car, pursued him, stabbed him to death, and used this law. it's being used in florida. >> that's all we can say -- if he was stabbed to death he didn't use a gun -- >> i will tell you, i'll support

what senator smith said, this country is filled with people who picked a fight with other people and found themselves on the defensive. not every guy that picks a fight ends up the aggressor. this case is causing a lot of noise, and i'm telling you mr. gottlieb that stand your ground is on trial here. >> this is definite from defending your home. this is a perverted version -- >> okay, i'm trying to avoid words like perverted and all this stuff. thank you for coming on. elected officials that represent the people, thank you, and we'll talk about the implications of the second amendment again and again. president obama was in oklahoma today pushes for construction, again this is tricky stuff, part of the keystone pipeline. can you be half right? he's stuck between the

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visit us today. welcome back to "hardball." the white house has been feeling

defensive on the subject of rising gas prices. so today, president obama wrapped up a two-day, four-state tour talking about energy policies. he was in oklahoma today where he announced he is fast tracking part of the keystone pipeline. he made a jab at republicans for making the pipeline a political issue, let's listen. >> our exports said that we needed a certain amount of time to review the project. unfortunately, congress decided they wanted their own timeline. today we're making this newpipelinewpip pipeline from cushing to the gulf. the other portion we'll have to review to make sure the health and safety of the american people are protected. >> at the same time, house speaker john boehner was in washington dc minimizing the

president's move. >> the president is down here in oklahoma taking credit for part of the pipeline that's going to it's already gotten its approvals. this idea the president is going to expedite this will have no impact. >> there you go. the politics continues. joining me is republican from oklahoma, james langford and thank you, and political analyst and editor at large, joan walsh. why is it a political issue, congressman? why is it being built and if it is not, why is that an opportunity to slam the congress? >> when the president said congress jumped into it the previous pipeline took 24 months to permit and this one is at 44 months and climbing. the frustration is, let's get on with it. this is just another pipeline

coming up up. we passed a pipeline safety bill and this will be even more safe in the process. >> what do you make of the charge or argument the reason there's slowness getting this approved, there's endangerment of people's water wells, that they have wells all along the northwest pipeline route and they get their water from the ground and if you start lying pipelines through it and pipelines do leak and you're endangering their water sources. >> here's the problem. if you actually looked at a map of that aqua fer that runs south to texas and laid the map on top of it. there are thousands of miles of pipeline that run through that aquifer. i'm all for the people in nebraska determining the route for it. and there are thousands and thousands of pipeline already there. >> isn't this exponentially a greater highway for oil and therefore a more troubling concern? >> nos. this will actually be the safest

pipeline ever. we just put in new safety regulations through the house and senate last year the president signed on to and this has to meet those new excessive safety lines. it's a big deal to protect water. we're not in a situation to protect the pipeline, luke at our pipeline map, we have thousands of pipeline. >> back in the '70s, i was doing a study before i went to work for nader, there's 125,000 miles of pipeline in the united states, oil pipeline. you know how many inspectors there were? one. i'm not so confident as you are about pipeline safety. let me go to joan. you and i are generalists. politically, i see the president being in trouble here, to be halfway on something, people hate you from both sides. take it from a centrist, i know what it's like. >> you get kick ed from both sides and sometimes if you're a

centrist, you say i must be doing something right. and sometimes you're a little bit wrong. the president has a tricky tricky position. it's very classic president obama, he wants to be the man in the middle, the man in moderation, wants to split the baby, not literally, and he wants to come up with a compromise that works. i just don't think it's possible here. you've really covered what the safety risks are. also, in terms of what this does to consumers, this could raise prices rather than bring them down. this oil goes straight to the gulf, most if not all goes to the international market. >> that's not true. >> doesn't do anything for domestic gas prices. he hopes people aren't paying attention. >> i understand it gets to the gulf, once it's been opened, international sale, no restriction keeping it here in america. >> the vast majority is found in the gulf region and comments back to the united states, the same thing for canada.

>> that's not true. >> we're at a high here -- 58% of oil we produce in america is being used in america. 58% of all the oil -- we're not exporting the vast amount. the president's dead on we're producing more. canada, mexico and united states and put the three together, it's right at 80% of all the oil we use, we could finally work towards getting off middle east oil. >> we can't control where the oil goes once it's refined and goes on the international market. >> it goes to the highest bidder. >> that's the way our system works. joan walsh. we all love the free enterprise system. >> mitt romney's staggering admission that his word is not his bond. covergirl makeup... and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump... covers spots, lines... and wrinkles.

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the romney campaign is squirming tonight, trying to slip free of the staggering admission that its word is not its bond. that's right. in saying that mitt romney's promises cannot be trusted, his top aide is making a breathtaking confession. he's telling the world all this thi things this candidate promised to champion, he cannot deliver. he is a human etch a 6sketch, what he said can be unsaid. no wonder they're not excited about him and looking for

someone else to do battle with president obama. on friday, the president takes up the health care bill, the one pushed through from massachusetts by mitt romney. wouldn't this be a problem for him to be on the attack on the health care plan. this is where where he thank the aide. sure, this is what president obama accomplished nationally. romney is just and etch-a sketch, presto, from pioneer of the health care to leader of me muttny. what he was for he is now against and what you saw on the screen is now vam moosed. listen now to what romney's aide said. i think you hit a reset button, almost like an etch-a sketch, start it up again. all those tv ad messages, forget about